Homes, school and public park on the table for former Sandwell golf club
A major public park, a school and more than 300 homes could be built on the former Brandhall Golf Course under a range of proposals being considered by council chiefs.
Sandwell Council's cabinet will consider five options for the 18-hole course, off Heron Road, in Oldbury, which was closed down in May 2020.
At the time, bosses revealed they were spending £275,000 a year subsidising the course and it had declined in popularity in recent years, leading chiefs to close it.
The plans include a new primary school building which would replace the existing the ageing Causeway Green Primary School, on Penncricket Lane.
Options include land for the school and a public park at 32 hectares and the retention of the nearby Parsons Hill Park which would be saved under each option.
Another would see the school land and a park of 21.9 hectares and space for 360 new homes. A third would see school land, a public park at 26 hectares and 190 new homes.
Alternatively, planners could decide to develop a major public park – stretching across 35 hectares but with no room for housing or the school – or just decide to do nothing.
Councillor Peter Hughes, Sandwell Council’s cabinet member for regeneration and growth, said: “We will carefully consider all views, as cabinet members now move on to choose from the range of detailed options for the future of the site. We will also look closely at the findings from both the public consultation and additional information gathered by officers over recent months.
"This will help us to choose which of the five options best meets the future needs of the local community, and Sandwell as a whole."
Council chiefs said each option would require different levels of investment, a park would be the first created in Sandwell's 48-year history, and space for housing is badly needed despite the authority prioritising a brownfield-first approach.
A public consultation held in November last year received almost 500 responses, with 428 people voting to choose the option with the largest park and fewest number of houses.
Sandwell Council's cabinet will discuss the five different options for the future on the site when it meets on July 20.
